


it's a hope world (of butterbeer, hogsmeade and good friends)

by pinthetae



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Coming Out, Family Issues, First Kiss, First Love, Fluff, Gryffindor Kim Seokjin | Jin, Hufflepuff Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Hufflepuff Kim Taehyung | V, Jeon Jungkook is Whipped, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope Is a Sweetheart, Kim Taehyung | V & Park Jimin Are Best Friends, Light Angst, M/M, Metamorphmagus, Min Yoongi | Suga Is Bad at Feelings, Minor Character(s), Muggle-born Pride, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Hogwarts, Pureblood Culture, Ravenclaw Jeon Jungkook, Slytherin Min Yoongi | Suga, Slytherin Park Jimin, Unrequited Crush, Wizarding World
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-04-26 17:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14407401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinthetae/pseuds/pinthetae
Summary: “Hitting up minors is illegal, Yoongles.” Seokjin sings.The Slytherin stops packing his books for a second and whips out his wand. He points it at Seokjin, and casts with a deadpanned voice, “Evanesco.”“The Vanishing Spell? Really, Yoongi, I'm hurt.”“Always worth a shot.” Yoongi shrugs and tucks the wand back into his robes. Without a second word, he turns and leaves the table for class, leaving Namjoon gawping at the older student. Slytherins arewild.tldr: self-indulgent story about muggleborn hobi's journey into the wizarding world, where he meets the rest of the bangtan boys at hogwarts! a story about seven boys growing up: there's quidditch and owls and OWLS and sweet, sweet young (unrequited) love!! don't worry- the angst is but a light frosting on a wholesome cake (you'll never see it coming)





	1. the beginning: hogwarts letter

**Author's Note:**

> if you and i can't go to hogwarts, at the very least these boys are; once upon at a fanmeet namjoon sorted the boys by houses so yEs we will be following the word of god here and yes that means jimin is in slytherin, because namjoon says so. stay tuned as we work through the magical world of hp 
> 
> ALSO i'm imagining seven years around high school + college years so 14-20 years old, post-war!! please gives lots of suggestions and comments (and kudos aha) as we go on this absolutely self-indulgent trip :>

Hoseok thinks he might have broken his jaw. There’s a heavily starched envelope in his left hand, complete with a wax seal and writing in some medieval cursive. In his right hand, there’s a piece of really ancient looking parchment.

_Dear Jung Hoseok,_  
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all the necessary books and equipment.  
Term beings on 1 September.  
We await your owl no later than 31 July. 

_Yours Sincerely,_  
Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress 

There’s an equally fancy signature signed with something that’s definitely not a ballpoint pen, and Hoseok somehow finds it in himself to turn to face his mother, who’s reading the letter over his shoulder with an equally befuddled expression. There’s a very heavy silence in the Jung household, until a slight cough breaks it and both mother and son turn to look at the messenger, a stern lady in maroon robes.

“My name is Madam Aquila, I am a staff member at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am here to explain everything you need to know. As you can tell from the letter, Mr Jung Hoseok is a wiz- ma’am please I’m telling the truth! Ma’am-”  


Hoseok watches in awe as his mother rolls up her sleeves and picks up the nearest household object- a mop, and begins to brandish it in earnest at the lady. There are screams of “you think I can’t see through scams, you kidnapper!” and “no ma’am you misunderstand! Look I can show you!” but Hoseok ignores the havoc going on around him, and takes this chance to glance down at the letter again, letting the words fully sink in. 

A small smile creeps onto the little eleven-year-old’s face and as much as all these seem so utterly unbelievable, Hoseok cannot help but feel incredibly at peace, as though everything had fallen in place. He’s magic. And he’s known it all along honestly, deep down.

* * *

It takes a while longer and some actual _real! magic!_ before Hoseok’s mom finally calms down and begins to take in the unbelievable. The lady witch is incredibly patient, obviously having dealt with this many times before, and wastes no time in dealing out the facts and giving the Jungs just enough time to process and digest everything. They set a date for Sunday at noon, where the nice lady witch would bring the Jungs along on a shopping trip to ‘dragon alley’, Hoseok hears, and that’s enough to send the child over the moon.He had been worried enough about high school and all the horrors he had heard about while he was still in middle school, but this just seems to be too grand an upgrade from the public high school he was intending to go for.

His mind is wandering now, what sorts of magic he’d be able to do at this grand new school, the people he’d meet and perhaps even, dragons? He’s done small, strange things before, like vanishing the school bully’s pants and vaulting (or was it flying?) over a high garden fence when the neighbour’s dog had it in for him. All those strange incidents and accidents... everything makes sense now. His excitement is almost tangible, before someone places a hand on his shoulder which startles him out of his daydreams.

“Hoseok, I will see you on Sunday, and we’ll buy everything you need for school, alright?” Madam Aquila asks him very kindly, a small amused smile flickering over her features. It’s always incredibly precious to see muggleborn children finding out that they are magic- the parents are usually shell-shocked, but the children are always the first to accept the fact, and incredibly eager to find out more. Her warm smile doesn’t help Hoseok calm down and he’s nearly bouncing on his seat at this point.

“Of course!” he chirps, and his mother can’t help but bite back a smile. Everything’s going to change now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the short short intro chap
> 
> so! much! is! going! to! happen!!! i'm so excited honestly, all the muggleborn vs pureblood dynamics as they explore hogwarts together, growing up and all those crushes !! amazing honestly
> 
> this is 120% a fic for our hp-fantasies and whims and fancies, honestly; thank you for reading and do give comments about what **you'd** like to see in hobi's wizarding world!! (and of course kudos will make me very touched!! thank u!!)
> 
>  


	2. packing up: dragon alley and Runch Randa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, is there still space in this cabin? Uh- it’ll be great if I could sit with you?” The other boy trails off a little and sheepishly glances at Hoseok, waiting for a confirmation.
> 
> Hoseok remembers his mother’s advice to make more friends, so he quickly gathers his things closer to himself and places Runch Randa’s cage onto the overhead compartment to make space. “Sure, it’s just me in this cabin.”
> 
> “Thank you so much, you don’t know how hard it is to find a cabin. Really appreciate it, thanks,” the boy grins at him, and offers his hand for a handshake while Hoseok tries to shush a slightly nervous Runch Randa. 
> 
> (Hoseok misses the hand and leaves him hanging.)

A loud family bustles past them with their hands full of shopping bags bulging out in every direction, and Hoseok swears he sees a live purple salamander in one of them, blinking with a look of reproach. There are people everyone in the tiny, winding road that is Diagon Alley, packed so full Hoseok can barely see a few metres out over the multi-colored robes that surround him everywhere. Hoots, shouts, even strange chirps and squeaks seem to be emitting in all directions and the young boy valiantly tries to take in every single detail of the magic that’s around him.

That morning, Madam Aquila had come to pick them up from their meeting place in a very respectable and normal portion of Central London. This time round, she’s dressed in pale purple robes that nearly skim the floor, her hair neatly piled up into a bun. Hoseok wonders if everyone in the magical world dresses up like this and starts to feel a little self-conscious in his simple checkered shirt and trousers. Madam Aquila had been awfully sweet to Hoseok and his mother the entire time- warm smiles and a confident tone, making sure to answer any questions they had, and now the two women are caught in a heated debate about the pros and cons of different types of educating methods. They had followed the witch down different alleyways and the backdoors of shady looking pubs before they reached a rather dull and nondescript brick wall, but a few taps of her wand (a wand!!!) had revealed a whole hidden alley, full of the weirdest and most eclectic shops that range from looking brand-new to at least a century old. It’s so full of people and sounds and smells and-

“Mom…this is amazing…” mumbles Hoseok, his eyes wide and in awe of the scene before him. Mrs Jung can only nod in agreement, her hand tightening its grip around her son’s much smaller one. 

“This way please, Mrs Jung. I recommend we head to the bank first to change some muggle pounds into our wizarding currency.” Madam Aquila says, turning to face the mother and son duo who are still reeling at the sight before them. 

“Ah yes, yes, let’s go Hoseok, come along,” his mom says, tugging Hoseok along and entering Diagon Alley.

They make their way to Gringotts where Hoseok gets glared at by a few goblins after he stared at them for too long, watching in fascination as they squinted down their long wrinkly noses at rows of numbers and precious jewels. Muggle coins and paper notes are changed into large metal coins that weigh heavily in Hoseok’s wallet, and he tries very hard to commit the very confusing currency to memory. After their brief trip to the bank, Madam Aquila leads them into the different shops to purchase their school supplies while Hoseok religiously checks his Hogwarts letter, making sure not to miss a thing. His favourite place by far must have been the wand shop, where an ancient old man had wandered out from behind the towers of stacked wand boxes and passed him different wands to try out. After swishing them this way and that, with Mrs Jung happily taking snaps of him on her phone as discreetly as possible, he finally settled on one that seemed just right- black walnut and unicorn hair, 13 inches and pliant. 

The old wandmaker sent the three off with a stern warning, “black walnut is rare as they come, young man. Stay true to yourself, and it will stay true to you.”

“Yes sir…” Hoseok had managed to get his words out, a little shaken by the whole encounter. Madam Aquila quickly steered the young boy out of the shop, not before sending a stern look at Mr Ollivander. It would do the kids so much good if he would stop terrorizing them with such dramatic one liners. The weathered wandmaker only shrugged with a twinkle in his eyes and waved them out of his shop.

“What’s left on the list, Hoseok?” Madam Aquila asks, turning to look at Hoseok as they try to squeeze through the crowd back onto the main alley.

“The uniform…books… we’ve got everything!” Hoseok scans through the list again carefully. “Oh hang on, there's one more thing here at the bottom. It says here, that students may also bring an owl, a cat, or a toad!”

“A toad?” Hoseok’s mom mutters under her breath with a frown.

“Would you like a toad, Hoseok? I would recommend an owl, they’re much more useful,” suggested Madam Aquila, as they started to make their way towards Eeylops Owl Emporium. “I’ll show you the owls first; if you don’t really like them, we can head to Magical Menagerie and you might find something else you like there.”

The trio turn into a different alley this time and Hoseok makes sure to follow Madam Aquila right behind her heels, his hands already full with bags containing his new Hogwarts robes, books, cauldrons and the like. She brings them to a stop in front of a dimly lit shop, and Hoseok can already hear all the hoots coming from the inside of the shop. Pushing open the door, the cramped interior full of magical creatures comes fully into view. The smell reminds Hoseok of the time he wandered into the local zoo’s waste disposal hall and blanches slightly. 

There are barn owls, tawny owls, owls that seem like they were nurturing grandmothers in their past lives and ones that look as though Hoseok had personally offended their ancestors. “Hoseok, look at this one, she’s gorgeous,” Ms Jung says from a corner of the store, gesturing at a rather magnificent looking brown owl who bristles under her praise. Madam Aquila likewise brings to his attention a few other birds, praising the species for its consistent delivery jobs. It takes another ten minutes and two rather painful snips from a few disgruntled birds before Hoseok finally stops in front of one owl.

“Mom, how about this one,” Hoseok says as he points at an owl perching on a shelf, and as Hoseok says this, it jolts in surprise and nearly falls off its perching spot.

“Excellent choice, young sir. This is one of our youngest barred owls, wonderful girl, really starts to like you the moment you feed her—” a young male employee bustles over hopefully, starting his sales pitch.

“Yes, but is she any good at her work?” the no-nonsense tone of Madam Aquila cuts through the employee’s rambling, “no point owning an owl that can’t get their addresses right.”

“Yes, madam, of course! This girl here aced her letter-delivery tests, didn’t get a single task wrong! Not only is she a really strong flyer, she’s also very loving to her trainers, you’re real lucky to have stumbled upon her since she’s only been for sale a couple of days. It’s just that she tends to be a little—” The male employee’s speech gets cut short a second time when the owl, who was getting increasingly flustered with the compliments and began shuffling on the spot, let out a panicked hoot and found itself tumbling off the shelf in a flurry of feathers.

“Clumsy. She gets a little clumsy,” the employee concludes his speech, a fine shade of apricot starting to spread over his features.

“Clumsy,” Mrs Jung echoes after him as she glances at the flustered owl, now standing on the floor looking rather embarrassed while pruning its feathers.

A few seconds past before, Hoseok announces “I like it!” to Mrs Jung’s great amusement. She definitely saw this one coming. The delighted employee brings them to the counter and charges the pair 11 galleons, presenting to them a large bird cage and ushering the bird into it. They leave the shop a while later and Hoseok cannot stop staring at his newest friend. The bird chirps happily back at him as the boy breaks into a round of excited ramblings about how happy he is to have found her. 

“You know, I’ve never owned an owl before, you’re going to be my first owl friend!” 

In front of him, Hoseok’s mother and Madam Aquila continue to bustle around, hurrying from one shop to another to finish up their purchases while Hoseok trails behind slowly, taking in the sights. There are other young teenagers like him, dressed in long gowns and a floppy looking hat that Hoseok is starting to wish is not the norm for wizard fashion. He’s sticking out a little in his normal shirt and trousers as he navigates through the multi-colored throng of robed wizarding folk. What really comforts him is seeing another boy like him, his lanky frame moving through the crowd with a Rolling Stones shirt and clutching a whole bag of new potion supplies and schoolbooks- Hoseok hopes he’ll see that boy again at school.

As the sun begins to set somewhere overhead, the dimming light casts a dull blue color across the alley. The crowd begins to thin as the shadows grow longer, the cold cobblestoned pathway becoming more unwelcome to the weary shopper. The time prompts Madam Aquila to lead them back out of the wizarding alley and into ‘Muggle’ London, as the witch puts it, back where Hoseok is familiar with. The owl stands out more now, in the crisp grey streets filled with taxis and lights.

Madam Aquila hands him a train ticket- it’s on the first of September at King’s Cross, and she explains to him how to get onto the magical train platform (through the wall!). That makes almost no sense to Hoseok, but after all that he’s seen today, he’s willing to give walking through walls a try. They bid each other farewell and with a smart turn on her heels, the witch disappears into faint air with a soft ‘pop’, leaving the Jungs standing alone at the side of the street, feeling rather lost.

“Well, that was a long day, don’t you think so darling?” Hoseok’s mother eventually gathers herself enough to ask that as they both continue staring at the spot Madam Aquila disappeared from.

“Yeah that was… amazing…” Hoseok tightens his hand around his mother’s and glances up at her, a slow smile creeping onto his features. Amazing is an understatement. 

Hoseok’s mother seems to understand what her son is feeling, and tugs on his hand lightly to bring them home. Her little son is a wizard! It’s nothing she could have ever fathomed, yet everything she could have ever asked for- the smile on her son’s face is like nothing she had ever seen before. 

“Come on, let’s head home and we can start looking through your books.” Hoseok obediently hugs his owl’s cage closer to himself as they make their way home slowly.

* * *

“Mom, there are spells to make your enemy grow tusks!” Hoseok screams from his room in excitement, his head almost buried into his new copy of _Jiggery Pokery and Hocus Pocus_ \- it wasn’t in the list of school books needed, but a quick glance at the back of the book promising ‘a range of mischief-making spells’ was just too much for him to resist. 

Hoseok’s mom lets out a non-committal hum to acknowledge her son as she continues neatening up her son’s luggage. It’s been a few weeks since the trip to Diagon Alley and Hoseok had been doing nothing but burying himself into the new books, learning everything he could about the wizarding world. His excitement is contagious, and Hoseok’s mom can’t help but feel excited for what is to come.

“Mom, and you can make their toenails grow! Super long!” Another yell echoes from Hoseok’s room as he comes across yet another interesting spell. 

“Yes darling,’ replies Mrs Jung. Another week to go. One more week to go before her son goes on his greatest adventure yet.

* * *

He’s got everything packed up nicely and Hoseok can’t help but start to fantasise about what he would be doing in school, and his owl gives out an appreciative hoot, as though sensing his excitement. When Mrs Jung enters his room to help bring his luggage trunk down, the young boy is bouncing around his room and off the walls, a constant flurry of motion with limbs flailing around. 

“Mom, mom what do you think the school is going to look like!” He flings himself off his bed to ask, looking at his mother expectantly.

“I’m not sure darling, I don’t even know where your school is…” ponders Mrs Jung. 

“That’s alright, I’ll make Runch Randa deliver letters to you!” Hoseok exclaims proudly, and the owl gives another proud hoot. 

“Runch Randa?” Mrs Jung asks, so Hoseok hoists the heavy owl cage off his balcony and waves it a little, causing Runch Randa to hoot angrily as she shuffles around the cage. “You named the owl Runch Randa. Alright then, are the two of you ready then?” 

“Of course!” Hoseok all but throws himself out of his room and into the living room, holding tightly onto Runch Randa’s cage, his brand-new Hogwarts robes swishing about him. They make their way to King’s Cross, with Hoseok’s large trunk clearing the path ahead of them easily. Some things on the platform are starting to strike Hoseok as distinctly un-Muggle-like, now that he’s more familiar with the wizarding world: there is a family dressed in bright turquoise robes complete with floppy wizard hats, children pushing large trunks with owl cages or carrying indignant-looking cats, badly-dressed commuters wearing pajamas under suits. A particularly ill-dressed lady bustling about with a nightgown paired with office slacks sends Hoseok and his mom into giggles, even as she shoots them a nasty glare.

Platform 9 and 10 come into view and Madam Aquila’s directions are at the forefront of Hoseok’s mind. ‘Walk straight into the wall between the two platforms, you can watch other wizarding families first. Just walk confidently.’ she had advised the Jungs, and Hoseok’s mom had surprisingly taken it very well.

“Well of course, how else can small children and their parents alike get into such a place hidden from view.” Hoseok’s mom had commented is a rather matter-of-fact fashion. 

They loiter around for a while, managing to watch some families walk into the wall. “Let’s try it to, shall we?” Mrs Jung suggests, and Hoseok nods enthusiastically. They can do this. Positioning themselves before the wall, Mrs Jung takes big confident strides while Hoseok breaks into a tiny run, and the crash would happen anytime soon until—

It’s dark for a moment, and then Platform 9 and three-quarters bursts into view.

The red steam-engine train is letting out billows of smoke, hundreds of Hogwarts students and their relatives spill across the platform. There are shouts and chirps and sounds of happy reunions as students start to board the Hogwarts Express. Hoseok smiles widely at the sight before him- it’s all happening, it’s real! 

Beside him, Mrs Jung is taken aback with the emotions she is feeling as she watches the sun and stars dance across her son’s eyes. This is where little Hoseok is meant to be, she feels. Gently, she pries his hand out of hers and places his hand onto his trunk.

“Off you go now, Hoseok-ah.”

Hoseok looks up quickly, only to see his mom smiling at him. There are a lot of emotions but Hoseok is still a little too young to understand a mother’s heart. “Okay Mom.” His hands tighten on his trunk.

“Promise me you’ll write to me, at least once a month,” she says, as they walk closer to the edge of the platform.

“Every week, mom. I’ll give Runch Randa lots of work to do!” Hoseok chirps, glancing at his new owl. Runch Randa hoots happily again.

“Take care of yourself, won’t you,” fusses Mrs Jung as she gives her son’s hair a light tousle. Hoseok is drowning a little in his new robes, but he looks amazing to her. “Make lots of new friends, and when you come home for Christmas you can tell me all about school.”

Hoseok checks his belongings one last time, his wand tucked safely in his trousers pocket and Runch Randa ready to go in her cage. One last big hug for his mother, and he makes his way with the rest of the students onto the train. Quickly, he sits himself into an empty cabin and leans out of the window to wave wildly at his mother.

Mrs Jung waves back, and the train slowly leaves the station, chugging along as parents and siblings wave frantically back. Mrs Jung jogs slightly along the platform to say her goodbyes longer, and Hoseok feels a little sting at the corner of his eye. Maybe he’s not ready for a new adventure in such a foreign world to him. His new robes seem to weigh on him a little and when the Hogwarts Express sets out into the sun, the bright light washes away the silhouette of his mother and he feels a tear trickling down his face. Hurriedly, he wipes it away before anyone sees it, and it turns out to be the right thing to do when his cabin door bursts open.

The door is still cluttering in its frame when a tall boy pokes his head in, an apologetic grimace on his face.

“Hey, is there still space in this cabin? Uh- it’ll be great if I could sit with you?” He trails off a little and sheepishly glances at Hoseok, waiting for a confirmation.

Hoseok remembers his mother’s advice to make more friends, so he quickly gathers his things closer to himself and places Runch Randa’s cage onto the overhead compartment to make space. “Sure, it’s just me in this cabin.”

“Thank you so much, you don’t know how hard it is to find a cabin. Really appreciate it, thanks,” the boy grins at him, and offers his hand for a handshake as Hoseok tries to shush a slightly nervous Runch Randa. (Hoseok misses the hand and leaves him hanging.)

“It’s no problem at all. Are- are you a first year too?” Hoseok asks hopefully, as they settle into their seats.

“Yeah me too,” the boy replies, gesturing at his plain school robes not yet adorned with the house crest, “are you worried about what house you’ll be in?” 

“I’ve read about it, but I have no idea which house I will get.” 

“You read about it… are you, by any chance, muggle-born?”

The question sets warning alarms off in Hoseok’s head- he’s read about how some wizarding folk aren’t the most pleased with ‘muggle-born’ witches and wizards, and he gets ready to defend himself. “Yeah, you’ve got a problem with that?” Hoseok replies.

“Oh no, no problem at all,” the boy hurriedly adds, putting his hands up in a display of surrender. 

“Oh,” Hoseok seems to deflate, and then immediately blinds the boy with one of his mega-watt sunshine smiles. The boy reels a little. “That’s wonderful, that means you aren’t right, so you can tell me more about your world!”

The boy smiles widely back at him and replies “of course! I’m a half, my dad’s a muggle but my mom’s a real powerful witch.” At this, Hoseok lets out an awed sound and the boy sits up a little straighter, ready to launch into a short guide-to-the-wizarding-world seminar. “Hey, what’s your name? I never asked.”

“It’s Hoseok. Jung Hoseok, you?”

“Kim Namjoon. It’s really nice to meet you!” They shake their hands properly this time, and without further ado, Namjoon breaks into his two-hour seminar with Hoseok as his most willing audience as the train makes its way into the English countryside, leaving London far behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for reading!!! and kudos ahhh motivated to write more!! 
> 
> i would rather die than to not add runch randa into a fic HAHAH also here we present to you 14 year old namjoon i am in love with this sweetheart; on a sidenote, taehyung's _singularity_ is blowing my mind + wishing everyone who's trying to get tickets for their world tour all the best!
> 
>  


	3. the sorting: badger bros

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re just going to leave? What? _You_ crashed into him!” He exclaims, gesturing frantically at Hoseok, who's still lying on the ground, unmoving. 
> 
> “I was walking. He walked into my path,” the second-year replies with a tone of anger. What was the kid getting so worked up for? People die everyday. “Just bring him to the hospital wing or something, I’m sure Madam Pomfrey will fix him in a blink of an eye,” he says, and adds under his breath “gods, I hate first-years.”

He can’t do this.

There are a few hundred pairs of eyes gazing up at the high table, where all the first-years are huddled together as a big trembling group of nerves. The tension is almost tangible in the air. Hoseok is quite sure he contributes to majority of the anxious jitters, with the exception of the girl behind him who’s quite literally shivering after a bad experience with the squid from the lake crossing. She had stuck her hand into the icy black water of the Great Lake, only to be forcefully picked up by the torso and dunked into the depths by the giant squid, _and then_ returned to the boat, as though the Giant Squid was saying ‘have a taste of the lake since you like it so much’. It was traumatic just to witness. Hoseok glances at her out of pity and turns to face the Professor again.

“First-years, I will now read out your names and you will come up to this chair over here,” Professor McGonagall says as she gestures at the spindly looking chair right in the middle of the raised platform. “I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, who will then sort you into your respective houses.” 

The Great Hall falls into a somber, practiced sort of silence as the older students eagerly await the Sorting. Beside Hoseok, Namjoon is gazing impassively into the distance looking unfazed, but Hoseok is not fooled- there’s a slight tremor in his lip; even Namjoon is nervous. On the train ride, he had kindly given Hoseok a good run-down of all the Houses’ stereotyped pros and cons which Hoseok had quickly filed into his mental archive, following which he formed his own opinions about what House he wanted to enter.

* * *

“I’ll start with Ravenclaw because I really want to get there,” Namjoon had said on the train, in between bites of his chocolate frog. “They take in the smartest students, you’ll have to answer riddles everyday just to get into their common room. My mom was from there!” 

Hoseok glances up in confusion, mid-bite of his own Chocolate Frog, “you mean like the password is a riddle? To get back into your dormitory?”

“Yeah, crazy isn’t it. I heard if the riddle is really hard, sometimes half the House gets stuck outside in the cold, until some student manages to crack the riddle.”

Hoseok nods quickly, absorbing what he has just heard. Eager to learn more, he chirps, “how about the rest!”

“Well, there’s also Hufflepuff- they’re for really nice people, like patient and loyal, you know,” Namjoon added contemplatively. To this, Hoseok also nods his head to. “There’s also Gryffindor, that’s for the bravest people, so courage, and honestly a good dose of foolhardiness, but that’s just my mom’s opinion.” 

“Well, that’s one House I’ll definitely not be getting in to…” Hoseok says amusedly as he squishes his Chocolate Frog between his fingers. “I’m definitely not brave. Or clever for that matter, so that’s the Ravenclaw one out for me too.” He adds, feeling more dejected about his House prospects.

“It’s not that simple you know, after all the Sorting Hat is very wise. When I mean ‘brave’ I don’t mean who’s less scared of going into a haunted house, rather who’s braver in times of distress, who can gather themselves before their fears to surpass their own selves,” Namjoon says very seriously. “Or for Ravenclaw’s cleverness, it’s not all about who can pass their tests with highest scores. Ravenclaws do well because good grades come alongside their pursuit for knowledge; it’s their curiosity and wit that gives Ravenclaw a good student stereotype, but certainly not because the Hat sorts academically-inclined students into the same House.”

He ends his short speech by taking another big bite out of his Chocolate Frog, glancing up to look for Hoseok’s reaction, only to find Hoseok staring back at him with a huge frown. “Did I say something wrong, sorry I didn’t mean to offend you or—”

“No, no it’s not like that,” Hoseok quickly says, “it’s just that… you talk really well you know. Big words. ‘gather themselves before their fears to surpass themselves’? Wow.” 

His awed tone sends a slight flush onto Namjoon’s cheeks, but he doesn’t shrink away from the praise and sits up a little straighter instead.

“I read a lot.”

“Sure you do,” giggles Hoseok, and immediately the strangely serious atmosphere in their cabin breaks, and the two boys break into a round of muffled giggles.

* * *

The serious atmosphere in the Great Hall doesn’t seem like it would break anytime soon, unlike the two boys rather lighthearted train ride to school, so as the first students’ names start to get called, and Hoseok is gnawing so hard on his lip he worries if it might bleed. None of the four Houses seem to fit his personality perfectly, unlike Namjoon who constantly gives out an aura of superior intellect and read books the thickness of the phonebook ‘for fun’. Ignoring the hoots and boos as first-years begin to get sorted, Hoseok takes this time to scan across the hall. He can almost feel the different auras each table gives off, and he swears he can feel a cold draft coming from the Slytherin table. He chances a quick look at the students there, but instead he meets an icy cold glare from one of the blondes. Quickly, he whips his head away to break eye contact, a cold clammy feeling quickly spreading across his palms. Hoseok turns away and focuses on the other tables instead.

The Gryffindor bunch is proving themselves to be the rowdiest, breaking into the loudest cheering and yelling whenever a first-year gets sorted into their House. When a sleazy but confident looking ‘Jackson Wang’ gets into the red House, a couple of seniors go as far as to ripping their red and gold striped ties off their shirts and wildly waving them in the air. Hoseok doesn’t even know how a first-year could look so unfazed and watches dazedly as the boy strides towards the Gryffindor table amidst the cheering. 

“Kim Namjoon,” Professor McGonagall announces, breaking Hoseok out of his stupor. He gives his first and only new friend a pat on the back and watches as Namjoon stumbles over to the chair. He sits down warily, avoiding the awkward clamber the rest of the first-years had to execute to get onto the tall chair. The wrinkly hat is placed onto his head, and the whole Hall watches in silence. It anguishes over its decision for a while, and Hoseok counts the seconds in his head.

_One thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four thousand…_

_Twenty-six thousand, twenty-seven thousand…_

When it hits two hundred long seconds, whispers of ‘is it going to be a hatstall…” start to go around, growing louder in volume; Hoseok is just about to let out a yawn when—

“GRYFFINDOR!” the Hat all but bellows out his decision, and the rowdy Gryffindor table breaks out into loud cheers again. Namjoon slides off the chair wobbly and blinks around at the Hall as though he has forgotten where he was. With a quick confused look sent in Hoseok direction, he makes his way awkwardly over to the Gryffindor table. There at the table, the older boys give Namjoon some heavy-handed pats on the back to congratulate him, and Jackson sends him a sleazy wink. Namjoon gulps.

The first-years continue to get sorted into their Houses, though no one took as long as Namjoon to sort. Ten minutes later, Hoseok finds himself standing beside one last fellow first-year, a very cute girl with neat black bangs and shoulder length hair who’s currently spacing out slightly. 

“Jung Hoseok.” 

With a deep breath, Hoseok makes his way quickly to the chair and climbs on. The weight of the Hat weighs down on his bangs, the rim of the Hat making it difficult for him to see the Hall. He clenches his fists and watches his own feet dangle in the air, a few inches off the ground as he awaits the Hat’s decision.

 _Hmm… you’re an easy one to read…_ A voice drawls in his head and Hoseok lets out a frightened shriek, his hands flying out to grab the edges of the seat. A few laughs break out in the audience. His heart is beating crazily fast now and he readies himself for the Hat’s final verdict. _Without a doubt, you should be in…_

“HUFFLEPUFF!” yells the Hat. Professor McGonagall sweeps the Hat off his head and Hoseok hops off the chair to head to the table with the nicest looking people, in his opinion, and a small smile can’t help but appear on his face. As he strides past the Gryffindor table, he shoots Namjoon a quick thumbs-up and sits himself down at the Hufflepuff table.

“Hey, congratulations. Welcome to Hufflepuff man,” a deep voice from right beside him says, giving Hoseok a small scare. He turns to see a boy with sleepy looking eyes and a mop of pink hair staring right back at him with a warm smile. “My name is Wonshik, I’m a second-year. You’re Hoseok right?”

“Yeah, I’m Hoseok. It’s really nice to meet you,” Hoseok finds himself saying. The boy, Wonshik, gives him another small smile. 

“Hi Hoseok, I’m Ji Eun! I’m a second-year as well. You’re going to love it here in Hufflepuff!” A bright cheery voice greets him, and Hoseok cranes his neck slightly to see a yet another very pretty girl with straight black hair sitting beside Wonshik. They exchange greetings, and the two second-years promise to help them out if they ever need help getting about Hogwarts. A slight cough from the high table catches the students’ attention and brings the name-exchanges to a halt.

“Let us bring our hands together to welcome our newest members to the Hogwarts family, our new first-years,” Professor McGonagall announces, and the students applaud politely before quietening down again. The professor begins to recite the staff changes and announcements, and Hoseok finds himself losing focus, his attention on the swirling night sky above him. The elaborate pillars of the Hall seamlessly melt into the starry night and Hoseok spends a long time, tracing each constellation with his eyes, watching them sparkle and dance across the vast expanse of black. Hoseok wishes he had his phone with him so he could snap a photo of it and send it to his mother.

“Cool isn’t it…” a voice beside him breaks Hoseok out of his reverie. The owner of the voice is looking back at him with doe eyes and a crooked smile. “It looks exactly like the night sky outside, pretty cool man.” The boy explains upon seeing Hoseok’s confused expression, and Hoseok finds himself nodding absentmindedly- he remembers this kid now, he was one of the first first-years to get sorted into Hufflepuff. 

Trying to get ahold of his nerves, Hoseok introduces himself with his trademark smile. “Hi, I’m Hoseok, what’s your name?”

“I’m Jongin,” he cheerfully greets back, sending a really friendly smile back in return. Hoseok is really liking the friendly vibes in this place. “I’ve heard so much about Hogwarts feasts from my sister, I swear, my digestive system is so ready...” Jongin trails off with hungry look in his eyes and he pats his tummy a few times while staring at the empty House tables.

“Anytime now, children, anytime now,” Wonshik assures them after catching wind of their conversation, and Ji Eun lets out a dismissive snort.

“You’re so patronizing oh my god Wonshik, we’re only a year older.”

“That makes us infinitely wiser,” Wonshik retorts with a solemn nod of his head and an eyebrow wiggle, sending the table into giggles. 

“You’re ridiculous,” Ji Eun replies with a smile. It turns out that Wonshik was not in the wrong to say that the food was on its way because not a moment too soon, Hoseok caught a snippet of Professor McGonagall finishing up her address and looked up again at the high table, just in time to see her wave an arm over the Hall gracefully. Immediately, a strong waft of potatoes and chicken and all things wholesome invade Hoseok’s nostrils, and his stomach emits a loud grumble in protest.

“Oh shit, this is… this is amazing,” Jongin utters in awe from beside Hoseok, eyeing the piles of meat and vegetables and pots of soups and stews. A whole chicken in a perfect shade of golden brown, covered in gravy, sits right before Hoseok, surrounded by savoury pies and quiches, topped off with a giant bowl of mozzarella sticks. 

“Dig in, children,” Wonshik drawls, stroking an imaginary beard. Without further ado, the Hall erupts into cheers again and the Hoseok finds himself diving headfirst into the food alongside the rest of the Hufflepuff table. The food is amazing, Hoseok thinks to himself. Not that his mother’s cooking is subpar, but Hogwarts’ food seems almost as magical as the place itself. Everything is melting like liquid gold in his mouth, and he’s this close to converting to a religion where the mozzarella sticks are a mandatory diet. The other first-years are displaying equally alarming behavior; Jongin is letting out inappropriate moans between every bite of golden cheese-covered mashed potato, and the other boy sitting next to Jongin hasn’t resurfaced from a bowl of pasta since the start of the feast. Hoseok isn’t sure if he’s still breathing.

Chatter starts to feel the Hall again as the students steadily approach the limits of their stomach, which is most regretful, in Hoseok’s opinion. He could have gone for another ten servings or so of the chocolate tiramisu on offer if he didn’t feel like he was seconds away from throwing everything back out. Small conversations are taking place across the table, and the older Hufflepuff students take it upon themselves to make the newcomers feel as welcome as possible. 

“Don’t worry too much about Hogwarts, you’ll get used to it really quickly, and us Hufflepuff seniors will always help you out. No questions asked,” Ji Eun reassures them while they finish up their desserts. 

“Maybe just some questions. We wouldn’t want you doing anything that’d hurt our chances with the House cup either,” Wonshik supplements.

To this, Ji Eun continues to say, “that being said, we’ll still want everyone to be in one piece! If push comes to shove, defending yourself is really important too.”

“Ji Eun’s right, you need to be smart about it. Anyways, you guys gotta be careful of other students, man, not just Slytherin. Snakes come in all colours,” Wonshik adds as solemnly as he could. Hoseok, Jongin and the other first-years nearby listen attentively, trying to learn everything they could of the place.

“Anyways, us badgers will always look out for our own, so all you first-years will have to look out for each other too, yeah!” Ji Eun concludes brightly. The feast eventually comes to an end, and an unfairly good-looking senior comes down the table to lead the first-years back to the dormitories. “That’s the fifth-year Hufflepuff prefect, Minseok. Look alive y’all,” Wonshik whispers, and Hoseok straightens up a little.

The prefect is really good-looking, Hoseok thinks, with his toffee brown hair and obviously well-built figure visible even under the layers of the uniform. He’s already seen way too many gorgeous boys and girls in Hogwarts and it’s only been a few hours or so. Good-looking person #5 leads the group of new, uncertain Hufflepuff first-years down the winding corridors and ever-changing chairs. The portraits in particular are rather alarming to Hoseok, and he sends a wild-eyed look at Jongin, who seems to be taking everything in his stride.

“What the heck, Jongin. That guy moved!” Hoseok cries out in alarm when a man dressed in maroon medieval robes waves cheerily at the group, only recoil as though insulted from Hoseok’s cry.

“Well, of course I move, you nincompoop!” the portrait man scowls heavily at Hoseok, continuing to hurl insults even as they get further away from the painting.

“Have you… have you never seen a portrait move?” Jongin asks curiously, a frown marring his good looks. Hoseok stares back at good-looking person #4 and shakes his head wildly, he’s still shell-shocked by the portrait. “Wizarding portraits move,” Jongin explains matter-of-factly, as though insinuating ‘what else could they possibly do’. 

“That’s pretty damn weird to me, wow,” Hoseok remarks quietly while the group continues to traipse down the long corridors and stairwells. With an enlightened expression and a small ‘oh?’, Jongin nods his head as though having realized something, but he keeps quiet for the rest of the trek. The group finally turns into a small corridor basked in warm golden light cast by a few cheerful candles, and the smell of freshly baked bread seems to drift from the end of the corridor. A short while later, they reach a pile of barrels piled carelessly on top of each other. The prefect wheels around to face the group, who are all peering with befuddled expressions at their surroundings.

“Watch carefully. This is the entrance to the Hufflepuff dormitories,” Minseok explains while rolling up his sleeves slightly, a wand clutched in his hand. “Barrel number two, from the bottom,” he instructs, and points at a completely unremarkable barrel in the middle of the second row, “then you tap it in the rhythm of ‘Helga Hufflepuff’, our founder.” Minseok gives the barrel five rhythmic light taps, and the opening of the barrel swings upon with barely a creak. 

The first-years let out a synchronized sound of awe at the concealed opening. “Don’t tap the wrong barrel alright, it’s a bit of a nasty shock,” he cautions the first-years, who are too busy gawping at the unexpected secret door. They clamber their way through the passageway, the short upwards path leading to a wide, round room filled with cozy sofas and polished wooden furniture, plants decorating every little nook and cranny in the room. Leafy green vines and ferns adorned with tiny daisies and other cheerful looking flowers hang down from the ceiling, and the whole room is decorated in shades of brown and yellow, with magical candles floating near the sides of the room illuminating it. A small but rather ferocious looking fire burns away in a small fireplace, filling the whole room with the sort of warmth that you associate with warm beds in winter, the kind that sinks deep into your bones.

It also smells like toast and pastries. Hoseok decides he rather likes the Hufflepuff common room.

They are dismissed by Minseok and they head to their dormitories, boys and girls heading in separate directions. Small, quaint looking plants brush past Hoseok’s shoulders and head as his makes his way into his dormitory, and he has a sneaking suspicion that the plants are moving of their own accord. The boy’s dormitory is furnished in a similar manner as the main common room, the patchwork quilts on their beds giving it a homey feel. What strikes Hoseok as most endearing is the little potted plants that sit on each bedside drawer, each attached with a small card.

“Hey Hoseok, this one has your name on it!” Jongin reads off one of the cards and waves it in his direction. Flipping it open, Hoseok scans through the contents quickly: _Hi first-year! I’m your badger bro~ welcome to Hufflepuff man, hope you like it here! Remember, if you ever need help, all of us older puffs will always come to your aid man! Cheers, the coolest second-year!_

“Well, that sounded a bit like Wonshik sunbae, don’t you think so,” Hoseok ponders with a little chuckle. The note is really heartwarming even in its simplicity- it’s nice to know that he’s being inducted into such a warm family.

“Oh yeah, definitely Wonshik sunbae, I’ll bet like a whole ass Galleon on that,” Jongin agrees, reading the card over Hoseok’s shoulder.

“You’ve got one too?”

“Yup, found one with my name by this bed,” Jongin replies, sitting down on the bed next to Hoseok’s. “I guess they labelled the cards to indicate which beds ours are.”

“But they just finished the sorting, how could the second-years have written our names so quickly?” wonders Hoseok, looking back down at the card in his hand. It’s a simple pale beige card made with card stock paper, the words are scrawled rather messily but there are attempts to doodle what appears to be a misshapen badger on the corner of the paper. The word ‘Hoseok’, however, is written in a very regal, cursive font. 

“I mean, looking at how nice our names are, probably… magic?” Jongin suggests.

“You’re right, I don’t think Wonshik sunbae can manage such penmanship,” Hoseok sniggers, and the doodled badger suddenly bristles angrily on the paper. “Holy shit, the doodle moves too?”

Jongin looks up from his own card and remarks, “you’re muggleborn, aren’t you.”

His words give Hoseok a flashback to when he first met Namjoon, and how terrified he was that Namjoon might be from one of those traditional families obsessed with blood purity. Steeling his nerves for the second time that day, he repeats his words from morning, “Yeah, you’ve got a problem with that?”

Jongin falls into silence at Hoseok’s words, and immediately a heavy sinking feeling starts to settle in Hoseok’s gut. He watches warily as the other boy chews his own lip for a while, as though thinking of a suitable reaction. Hoseok knows, he’s going to be really disappointed by Jongin if he says something scathing or hurtful, but more than that he’s just really _scared_.

 _Please don’t say you’ve got a problem with it, please…_ Hoseok thinks silently, as though offering up a prayer to whatever god of friendliness and acceptance, hoping that he’s first Hufflepuff friend, or ‘badger bro’ as Wonshik had put it, would take it all in his stride.

“It’s just…” Jongin finally says with a very small voice, not at all like how confident he had been the whole day with his lazy smirks and even occasional winks. Hoseok gulps again, his hands nervously fiddling with each other behind his back as he waits for Jongin to finish his sentence. “It’s just I’ve never met, you know, muggleborn people. Or muggles, or anything like that,” he confesses quietly, as though uttering out his darkest secrets. He glances back up at Hoseok from where he’s sitting at his bed, a challenging tone lacing his words, like he expected Hoseok to laugh at him.

“Oh, well, that came out much nicer than I feared it was going to,” Hoseok finally manages to say, relieved beyond measure. Mustering the best smile he could do, he grins at Jongin crazily, smiling so hard his eyes crinkle up and he can feel a slight strain in his jaw. But it works, because Jongin flinches a little from the brightness initially, but soon he’s grinning a little lopsidedly right back at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean for you to think otherwise. I grew up in a pretty traditional household you know, so yeah, my parents never let me have the chance to meet… different people,” Jongin explains, sheepishly combing his hair back with his hand.

“That’s alright, I’ll teach you all about the muggle world! And you can teach me about yours,” Hoseok replies excitedly while settling down on his own bed. Now they’re sitting facing each other on their own beds, and Hoseok swings his legs a little as they dangle over the bed. It’s a little upsetting to see that Jongin’s feet reach the carpeted floor, but Hoseok supposes you can’t have everything in life. Hoseok has the billion-watt smile, Jongin can have the height, but they’ve both made a new friend that day, and that gives Hoseok all the reassurance he needs in the world.

He can do this.

* * *

He can’t do this. Hoseok wants to take back all his words and optimism, stuff them into a burrito and just gobble it all up. ‘What’s a burrito?’ Jongin had asked very innocently while they navigated their way back to the Great Hall for their very first Hogwarts breakfast, and Hoseok was momentarily distracted into explaining in great detail the glory of a burrito.

Anyways, he can’t do this, because the older students are walking past them in the corridors carrying heavy looking books, broomsticks tucked under their arms and they swish past the first-years like they have their whole future set. Hoseok couldn’t even decide if he was going to gel his hair back that morning, but all these twenty year olds in the school compound walking, no, striding alongside them is doing bad things to Hoseok’s self-confidence.

“Why does everyone look so old?” He asks Jongin, who’s definitely a million times less freaked out than Hoseok.

“Why are you so surprised? The seventh-years _are_ seven years older than us you know, so that makes them like, twenty-one. Do they not teach math in the muggle schools?” Jongin asks, all the while not looking up from his copy of the Hogwarts map, painstakingly made but a Hufflepuff fourth-year named Solar. An appropriately sunny girl had gathered the first-years in the common room that morning and handed out a stack of prettily drawn maps, that she explained were charmed to show the fastest routes to class. Minseok had also been there and he further explained how the map was made with the accumulative efforts of generations of Hufflepuffs who constantly add-on and try to improve the map, making it more user-friendly. Hoseok had been surprised by how magical the map was; it had edited itself as some of the stairs changed their positioning, and even gave tips about where to avoid possible traps laid by student pranksters.

The large number of Hogwarts students was giving Hoseok a tiny bit of a breakdown. He’s never been the most courageous person on the block, in fact he probably ranked first from the end of the list, and entering such an insanely foreign environment was mildly horrifying. Starting term in a schoolyear is dreadful on its own, but starting school in a magical world Hoseok knows nothing about— it’s the pits, Hoseok thinks. He really doesn’t want to do this. It doesn’t help that the other first-years seem to be adapting merrily into their new environment: no one else had yelped when the Sorting Hat spoke into their heads, no one else screamed and launched themselves down a whole flight of stairs when they had their faces stroked rather lovingly by a somewhat perverted magical fern in the Hufflepuff common room.

Jongin, being an absolute angel, seems to notice Hoseok’s obvious discomfort with the crowd and yanks him by his robes to the side of the corridor, avoiding the throng of students bustling towards the direction of the Hall.

“Hey Hoseok, you alright there? Don’t worry I don’t see any other ferns around,” Jongin tries to joke around, bringing up the morning’s incident. Hoseok takes a deep breath at Jongin’s words, and it comes out a little shaky, which doesn’t escape his friend’s notice. “Relax Hoseok, don’t be so nervous. What’s wrong though?”

“I’m just really nervous you know, first day of school, and everything it’s so different. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine,” Hoseok tries to reassure Jongin, but there’s a telltale prick in his eyes now, and his nose feels all sour and scrunched up, oh god- he knows he’s this close to crying in the middle of the goddamn school corridor on his very first day-

“Merlin, Hoseok, you’ll be fine, I’ll be right here the whole day Hoseok,” Jongin says in a panic when he sees Hoseok’s lips wobbling badly. He quickly pulls the other boy in for a nice warm Hufflepuff hug, and his heart breaks a little when he hears Hoseok break into little sobs and whimpers. He should have noticed it earlier that his friend was in such a bad emotional state. 

“I’m- I’m okay, Jongin, it’s okay,” Hoseok tries to say, his words muffled by Jongin’s robes. Jongin tries to pat Hoseok on the back, albeit a little awkwardly, but it’s the action that counts. The tears don’t seem to stop anytime soon but at least he’s moved on to intermittent hiccups. “I’m okay now, thanks Jongin,” he manages to say as he removes himself from Jongin, wiping at his eyes and nose. “I just got a little overwhelmed I guess,” he concludes, with a loud sniffle punctuating the end of his sentence.

“Oh man, Hoseok, it’s alright. When you feel better, we can head for the Great Hall for breakfast. Want to wash up somewhere first?” Jongin suggests kindly, subtly taking Hoseok’s bag full of books from him so he can wipe at his tears with his robe sleeve. 

“Thanks Jongin, toilet then?” 

Making a little detour, they head to one of the boy’s bathroom where Hoseok splashes the cold water onto his face, in hopes of ridding the telltale redness around his eyes. “Sorry about that, I really didn’t expect myself to, you know-”

“It’s really really okay Hoseok, I can’t really imagine how it’s like for you, everything is so foreign,” Jongin quickly cuts in nervously, standing off to one side. “I mean, even for someone like me who’s grown up in this world, it’s still a little, scary.” 

At Jongin’s sudden confession, Hoseok looks up from the sink and ignores the water dripping down his chin. He hurriedly asks, “it’s scary for you too?”

“Of- of course it is, we’re all away from home, and there’s not exactly a welcome-to-school course. First day and they expect us to get around everywhere ourselves… and classes begin on the first day too. It _is_ scary,” Jongin repeats himself.

“It’ll be scarier if you weren’t around,” Hoseok finally replies him as he dries his hands off with his robes. The two boys grin at each other again, suddenly the bathroom seems much brighter. “Come on, let’s head back to the Hall before all the food is gone!” he suggests, and Jongin is more than happy to tag along behind his new friend. They rearrange the books in their arms, Hoseok does a final check of his robes to make sure everything’s in place, and Jongin gives him a thumbs-up. 

He can do this.

Hoseok takes one last look at his reflection in the toilet mirror and sees how his hair is a little ruffled at the fringe, a tinge of red still lingering around the corner of his eyes, but nonetheless all these will be invisible to the average Hogwarts student milling about and thinking about Quidditch. With his arms tightly hugging his belongings, the two fourteen-year-olds step out of the bathroom when—

“Fuck, watch it!” 

A harsh voice growls from Hoseok’s immediate right, an inch away from his ear. It all happens as though in slow motion: a heavy, solid body comes into contact with him, colliding against his side as he struggles to keep his centre of gravity. He can feel his legs flailing, trying to keep themselves planted firmly on the ground but his newly polished shoes and wobbly knees are no match for the polished marble floor and all the heavy leatherbound books he’s carrying.

“Merlin, Hoseok!” Hoseok dimly registers Jongin yelling out from behind him, fingers grabbing hard onto his sleeve trying to pull him up as gravity takes him down, but it’s to no avail because Hoseok can feel himself falling backward. It’s that feeling when you know the only thing left is to give up and let the fall take you; it simultaneously happens in a split second, but in what feels like a lifetime, when cold marble smashes into the back of Hoseok’s skull, the coldness spreading down his spine, to his leg, his toes. He hears the sound of a loud thud from somewhere distant, a resonant echo in his head. 

And then it goes black.

* * *

“Oh fuck, fuck, damn fucking shit, Merlin!” The swears tumble out of the second-year’s mouth. Detangling himself out of the mess of Hoseok’s sprawled robes and fallen books, the second-year finally gets to his feet, all the while cursing and muttering under his breath, shooting annoyed glares at the two first-years, one of which currently immobilized in the middle of the school corridor. 

“Hoseok, please be alright, are you breathing?” Ignoring the newcomer, Jongin quickly throws his books down and crouches beside his fallen friend, trying to gauge how badly his friend was hurt. “Oh shit, he’s not moving, I think he passed out. What should we do?” Jongin says in a panic, his hands grabbing onto Hoseok’s robes and trying to shake the other boy gently. He looks up at the blonde second-year who had crashed into Hoseok.

“No idea,” the student replies dryly while dusting the dirt off his robes, and he prepares to leave the scene when Jongin inhales in disbelief.

“You’re just going to leave? What? _You_ crashed into him!” He exclaims, gesturing frantically at Hoseok. 

“I was walking. He walked into my path,” the second-year replies with a tone of anger. What was the kid getting so worked up for? People die everyday. “Just bring him to the hospital wing or something, I’m sure Madam Pomfrey will fix him in a blink of an eye,” he says, and adds under his breath “gods, I hate first-years.”

“You’re a piece of a shit,” Jongin huffs, trying to control the shakiness of his voice. This is really too much for the first day of school. Trying not to break into frustrated tears, Jongin gathers Hoseok’s unconscious body into his arms as well as he could manage. The second-year really shows no intention of helping out the two Hufflepuffs and strides off without another word. At least I got the last word, Jongin thinks to himself as he hauls Hoseok over his shoulder and digs around his own bag for the map Solar had given them earlier that morning to find the hospital wing.

* * *

“Oh Yoongi, where were you this morning?” is the first thing Yoongi hears when he finally sits himself at the Slytherin table, desperately in need of some breakfast to clear his mind from what had happened. There's a Gryffindor student sitting at his usual seat with a wide berth left around him, other Slytherins sending him curious looks once in a while. As Yoongi steps near the other boy, he can feel that familiar pull of un-explained affection that comes alongside the entity that is Kim Seokjin.

“You’re too happy for seven in the morning, hyung, please go back to your own table,” he grumbles before grabbing the cup of hot coffee from the other student. 

“Firstly, that’s my coffee, secondly, it’s ‘inter-House spirit’. Second, the first-years are too much for me to handle. There’s this new first-year who is definitely, without a doubt, going to be responsible for losing all of our House points, but also simultaneously going to be the most popular Gryffindor in give or take, two weeks. I hate the little bastard already. So no, Slytherin table it is for the meantime,” Seokjin replies Yoongi and makes a show of yanking his coffee mug back across the table. “What happened to you anyway, it’s pretty late.”

“Ran into some first-year gits, the kid fell over,” Yoongi explains himself, before regarding the other student with as solemn a gaze as he could muster. “Also hyung, that’s bullshit about not being able to handle some first-years. Shouldn’t you be all up in their faces, letting them know that the best looking third-year in Hogwarts is in their House?”

Seokjin considers Yoongi’s statement for a moment while munching on his chocolate toast, before replying, “you mean best looking student in Hogwarts.”

“Please shut up hyung, it’s too early for this bullshit.”

“It’s never too early for a good dose of truth, darling,” Seokjin drawls and piles some toast onto the younger student’s plate, “you look awfully pale today. Not saying you don’t look pale every other day, but your paleness today is making me feel… off.”

The Slytherin sighs and graciously accepts the additional toast. “Hyung, you’ve only seen me yesterday, after a whole summer of not seeing me. I probably got paler over the holidays.”

“Only the great Yoongi can get paler over summer,” Seokjin remarks, but drops his tone when he continues to say, “no but seriously, something is wrong?”

Yoongi shakes his head. It’s actually been plaguing his mind a little- the upset little first-year glaring up at him so insolently with shiny eyes. The kid was so close to breaking into tears, but still had the nerve to call him ‘a piece of shit’. And that other kid he knocked onto the ground- Yoongi managed to take a close, good look as him when he was getting up from the floor. A scrawny thing really, with chestnut brown hair flying wildly in every direction and small sharp nose- Yoongi prays he’ll never have to meet him again. He still feels sorry for knocking the kid unconscious on the very first day of school, but he’s sure they’ll manage. It’s Hogwarts after all, where safety pretty much ranks last on the least of the school’s concerns.

“If you say so,” Seokjin remarks, who frowns a little at Yoongi’s constant denial. Honestly speaking, the younger student is doing a rather bad job at lying. “Anyways, if anything is up, you can tell me, right? Yoongi?” He probes the younger student again as sincerely as possible.

“Yeah, I will,” Yoongi says in a mumble as he finishes up his breakfast. They pick up their books from beside them on the bench and get ready for their first day of classes. Seokjin throws one last glance at the Gryffindor table, and Yoongi spares one last thought about the two first-years he’s met that morning. 

The year is off to a good start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u everyone for all the kudos and comments it rly means a lot to me as my first fic on ao3!!! pls continue to comment, esp if there r specific things in hogwarts etc u want to see happen!!! i am rly open to all your ideas **i might even use them for future chapters**
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> the plot is not fixed per say, but i do have an idea of what are some key things that must happen ie young love etc AHAHAH excited!!! (also i must say i love anpanman so much, my childhood fav cartoon!!)
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> once again thank yall for your support!! rly appreciate :>
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> p.s. wonshik is vixx's ravi, minseok is exo's xiumin, jongin is exo's kai, ji eun is iu (u know where this is going, yeah)


	4. flying class: who's a keeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hitting up minors is illegal, Yoongles.” Seokjin sings. 
> 
> Yoongi stops packing his books for a second and whips out his wand. He points it at Seokjin, and casts with a deadpanned voice, “ _Evanesco_.”
> 
> “The Vanishing Spell? Really, Yoongi.”
> 
> “Always worth a shot.” Yoongi shrugs and tucks the wand back into his robes. Without a second word, he turns and leaves the table for class.

“He’s actually… a keeper,” Jackson whispers, but everyone ends up hearing it anyways. It doesn’t hurt that half the Gryffindor first-years are almost leaning in his direction, trying to catch every word Jackson says. The group of first-years break out into little sniggers and giggles at Jackson’s words as they watch the Gryffindor keeper approach them, carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. As she gets closer to the group, a hush falls over them, their attentions fixed onto the older student.

“Good morning first-years. My name is Seokjin. I am the Gryffindor keeper, and I will be taking over Madam Hooch’s duty for today’s class.”

There is a round of polite applause and not-so-polite ogling as Seokjin removes his outer robe to reveal the Gryffindor flying attire: a maroon red jersey. (They ogle harder when he rolls up his sleeves to show off his forearms. Someone inhales dramatically.) “Can someone tell me how far your class has progressed? What did Madam Hooch cover with you guys last lesson?”

“We hovered above the ground,’’ “one lap around the pitch!” the students chirp, as though trying to out chirp one another. Seokjin smiles at the cacophony, seemingly used to having this effect on groups of students. Immediately, the tittering stops when they catch sight of his smile. It’s like magic.

Seokjin nods contemplatively and sends them off to collect their equipment from the shed. As they make their way over to the back of the Quidditch stands, Namjoon finds his temporary peace shattered by a certain roommate.

“Hey Namjoon, what’chu think about our new flying instructor?” Jackson says excitedly while sidling up to Namjoon’s side. They’re walking side-to-side now, their robes brushing past each other. 

“Uhhh… he’s alright I guess, looks like a nice guy,” Namjoon says awkwardly. The hype around the older student is a little alarming- he’s not too sure why everyone is reacting so strangely.

Namjoon is also wary of Jackson, which is also probably one of the largest understatements of the year. Jackson is very friendly and cheerful, with a small pinch of sleazy and a penchant for trouble. He’s been nothing but accommodating in the past week or so that Namjoon has known him, and he’s grateful there’s a mood-maker like him in Gryffindor. At the same time, Jackson is still as much of a troublemaker as he is a nice bloke, so Namjoon keeps his words safe and scandal-free when he is anywhere near- just in case.

Jackson is dissatisfied by Namjoon’s lackluster answer and prompts him again. “Just ‘alright’?”

“Just alright.”

“But those arms, Namjoon, that body. That _face_. That should be illegal. I’m in love.”

“Not everyone is as thirsty as you are, Jackson.”

To this, Jackson makes an affronted expression but thankfully doesn’t pursue the matter. The Gryffindors eventually make their way back to the pitch slowly where Seokjin is standing beside a small pile of Quaffles. Some of the faster students are slipping their knee and shin guards on already so Namjoon hurries to do the same, struggling a little with the complicated leather buckles. The school equipment is old and weathered by the countless charms and all the physical hardships, after generations of reckless Hogwarts students. Times like these, Namjoon curses his uncoordinated, clumsy self as he tries, in vain, to slip the hardened leather strips into their respective loops.

“Do you need some help?” A kind voice from beside him offers and Namjoon turns, only to see Seokjin holding an elbow guard by its leather buckles, ready to help him put on the equipment.

“S- sure, thank you,” Namjoon manages to say. Keeping his expression as impassive as possible, he watches as Seokjin gingerly slips the guard onto his right elbow, tightening the buckles with practiced movements. The student beside them sends Namjoon an jealous glare when Seokjin’s back is turned- what the hell?

“There you go, all ready,” Seokjin says cheerfully, giving Namjoon’s elbow a friendly pat and moving over to the next struggling first-year. Namjoon watches Seokjin helping another girl that’s having difficulty tightening her flying cloak in a confident and assuring voice, bending slightly to accommodate her shorter height. The first-year girl is blushing a little now and putting on a shy little smile, but Seokjin doesn’t seem to notice as he continues his demonstration with a smooth—

“Velvety, dulcet tones.”

“Sorry, what?” 

“That’s what you’re thinking right, Seokjin sunbae’s voice,” Jackson elaborates with a smirk on his face. “Dul-cet tones,” he repeats again, stressing on the syllables while giving Namjoon an overexaggerated wink.

“Merlin, no, I wasn’t thinking that,” Namjoon tries to say, ignoring the clammy feeling in his palms.

Jackson nudges Namjoon with the broom handle and chuckles, “Yeah, because you weren’t thinking at all.” 

Their playful banter is called to a halt when Seokjin strides back to the front of the class with a polished, gleaming broom tucked under his arm. The first-years, on the other hand, are carrying the schools’ brooms in all of their vintage, splintering, creaking glory, twigs pointed in every direction. The Gryffindor team player’s broom sends waves of admiration rippling through the small group, with little ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ puncturing the otherwise peaceful pitch.

Seokjin gives directions for them to all mount their brooms and to start with hovering practices, so Namjoon summons his broom with a shaky ‘up!’ and mounts it tentatively. The broom is a little shaky, quivering slightly as Namjoon tries to seat himself comfortably on the broom. It takes a few tries before he even manages to slip his feet into the stirrups but he eventually succeeds, looking more like a newborn foal than anything.

It’s obvious which students have had extensive experiences on brooms: Jackson is quite at home on his with his natural athletic abilities, despite occasionally frowning at the broom for its sudden jerks and other signs of old-age; there’s another girl who is sitting down and hovering this way and that, watching the rest of the class struggle with an amused grin on her face, her eyes crinkling into crescents. Namjoon on the other hand, is not doing as well as someone of a wizarding background should- his mother generally discouraged him from discovering the wonders of flying and made sure to only teach him the bare basics, enough for him to move around on a broom. Three broken pieces of furniture, one traumatized pet dog and a painfully broken arm later, Namjoon’s child-friendly broom (a tiny thing, really, with plastic stirrups imported from the Muggle world) had unfortunately been confiscated from the young boy, and there ended his Quidditch career. 

“Alright, now that everyone’s saddled up and sitting comfortably, let’s go for a few slow rounds around the pitch,” Seokjin’s voice easily carries over the expanse of the pitch as he hovers around them on his broom, waiting for them to trail after him. It takes a little bit of cursing and small collisions before the whole class starts to fly in a neat formation after him.

The broom is hurting Namjoon’s ass. That’s pretty crude, but it’s true and he doesn’t understand how Jackson and everyone else is looking so goddamn comfortable their brooms. (Honestly, brooms are such a sorry excuse of a transportation vehicle.) He curses his fate of entering a Wizarding school with compulsory flying classes, tightens his grip on the handle and follows after the rest of the class.

Under Seokjin’s careful guidance and mentoring, they practice flying at higher altitudes which is really giving Namjoon a real cold sweat. “Grip your handles tight and point the end of the broom _up_. Don’t lean back! Bring the handle closer to yourself,” Seokjin instructs again, flying forward to help individual students with their postures. Jackson and the smiley-faced girl, whom Namjoon now knows is called Minji, are leading the first-years with an air of confidence, swerving this way and that without a care. Jackson goes as far as to lean forward on his broom, darting forward to break from the group before dipping downwards to skim past the grass on the pitch with his hand. A stern bark from Seokjin, however, is enough to have Jackson retreating quickly back to join the rest of the class. Namjoon watches as the older student pulls up beside the troublemaker to give him an earful.

They gather back together as Seokjin dismounts his broom to pass the Quaffles out. “For those of you who are unfamiliar with Quidditch, Madam Hooch will be going through the specifics of the game the next time she sees you. Today, we will just be doing some basic passes with these to get all of you more accustomed to movement on a broom.”

A red, leather-bound ball quickly finds its way into Namjoon’s hand. It’s actually quite heavy, Namjoon thinks to himself, barely fitting into his relatively large hand. Already, the girls on the smaller side are having trouble holding it securely and have resorted to tucking it under their arms and Namjoon considers doing the same. Seokjin, on the other hand, is clearly used to the feel of a Quaffle as he holds it with one hand breezily. He orders them to break off into pairs to practice some basic passes, so Namjoon finds himself with Minji.

“He was probably born with a Quaffle in his hand,” Minji comments from Namjoon’s left as she tries to hold it in one hand.

“Possibly, but also lots of training probably,” Namjoon replies, getting more intrigued by Minji. She’s trying to turn her hand without letting the ball fall out of her palm, so Namjoon decides to ask, “What are you trying to do to the Quaffle?”

Minji immediately stops her actions and turns to regard Namjoon, “Hang on, I thought you were from a wizarding family. I guess you’re not too familiar with Quaffles?”

“Definitely. I’m pretty much a walking disaster on ground, so my mother didn’t really let me fly around that much. She’s not really a Quidditch fan either, so no, not really familiar. Is there something strange with these Quaffles?” Namjoon wonders while staring harder at the Quaffle in his hand. It does look very much like what Quaffles should look like.

Minji nods her head in understanding and explains, “They’re weird alright. I play a lot of Quidditch with my family, and usually they kind of… stick to your hand.” She then demonstrates by turning her palm to face the ground, but the Quaffle immediately rolls off.

“You are absolutely correct.”

The sudden voice coming from behind Minji and Namjoon gives them a small scare, with Namjoon letting out a small yelp of surprise. Seokjin had flown behind them at some point, soundlessly. “These Quaffles are pretty old, the _Gripping Charms_ on them have weakened over the years. Usually Quaffles are charmed so players can grab on to the ball more easily, using less strength than what a normal ball should require,” Seokjin explains while throwing a Quaffle up repeatedly and watching it fall with a dull thud back into his palm.

“They don’t look too old though,” Minji remarks.

“I guess the charms that make it waterproof and keep the leather intact lasted longer. You guys play often?” Seokjin asks the two of them, surprised at how two first-years managed to notice the state of the Quaffles.

“Oh no, Minji does. I’m pretty terrible at flying in general,” Namjoon says with a little sadness. It’s the truth, but as a wizard growing up in such a Quidditch-loving country, it _is_ a little sad to be a terrible flyer. 

“You’re alright, Namjoon,” Minji says in a comforting tone and sends him a small smile. 

Seokjin nods his head in agreement. “As far as I can tell, all of you first-years are decent flyers, some of us just less coordinated than others.” At this point he sends Namjoon a wink.

What on earth.

“Anyways, I’m sure all of you will improve, so keep it up yeah! And Minji, right? I noticed that you’re pretty good, maybe you can help out a fellow lion,” Seokjin continues to say, as though nothing had happened. Minji gives an affirmative ‘of course!’ and they watch as Seokjin flies away to help other students.

They fall into a silence, before Minji passes the ball back to Namjoon and uses her free hand to brush away the bangs in her face. “Don’t think I didn’t see that wink,” she mutters while staring at Namjoon, a teasing lilt to her voice. 

“Merlin, and I thought Jackson was a bad enough flirt,” Namjoon says in a small, traumatized voice, eyes still fixed onto Seokjin’s back view. 

“I heard last year Seokjin got so many gifts at Valentine’s the whole Gryffindor table was thrashed with owl droppings during breakfast,” Minji replies, her eyes staring into the distance as she tries to imagine the scene. “I see why you would want to send him things for Valentine’s…” 

“Who’s sending who things for Valentines?” An obnoxious voice cuts into their rather private conversation all of a sudden. 

Minji turns around and sends him a mock glare. “You scared me Jackson, stop creeping up on people.”

“Yeah, yeah sorry. I heard ‘Valentine’s’, so I had to come and check out the juicy news. Who’s in love?”

“Namjoon,” Minji says without missing a beat.

“Minji!” yelps Namjoon indignantly.

“It’s alright man, no shame. We all need a bit of Seokjin in our lives, I mean, look at him,” Jackson inclines his head in the third-year’s direction and they all turn in sync to look at him. Seokjin is swerving around the first-years and dipping down periodically to help pick up the Quaffles that weren’t caught, a picture of confidence and athleticism. Once in a while, he’d fly back up, the slight wind causing his hair and robes to rustle slightly, and he’d bring his hand up to his bangs to move them out of the way while surveying the class with a hawk-like gaze. Namjoon takes the time to admire the older boy rather unabashedly, the toned chest and well-built arms making Namjoon feel the slightest tinge of self-consciousness about his own body.

“Oh man…” Minji says under her breath, but they all hear it anyway.

“He’s a keeper alright,” Jackson comments with finality and they all chuckle at the pun.

The class goes by uneventfully which Namjoon is grateful for. His mother will be most proud to hear that he survived through the first few flying classes unscathed and he makes a mental note to add that into the next letter he sends to her. After a few more drills and simple passes, they gather back on very hard and very solid ground to take off all their flying equipment. Namjoon resists the urge to go on his knees and kiss the grass.

Seokjin gives a few final comments before dismissing the class and the class immediately starts to chatter again about the class. Letting out a groan as he finally removes the constricting knee guards and other flying equipment, Namjoon dawdles as he makes his way to shed to return everything. Flying is exhilarating, but it takes a lot out of him. Minji had also been pretty unforgiving with her passes, lobbing Quaffle after Quaffle without mercy at him, Namjoon reflects moodily. It would be wonderful if he could become a great flyer, and maybe with that he’d be a tiny bit more interested in Quidditch. But at this rate, where he’s still one of the wobbliest flyers despite having prior experience- it’s just a little depressing.

“Hey, Namjoon right? You okay there?” Seokjin says in a concerned tone while jogging up to catch up to him. He’s panting a little while carrying the huge crate of Quaffles.

“Oh hey, let me help you!” Namjoon quickly remembers to say, putting aside his negative thoughts for a moment. Together they carry the wooden crate back into the shed and with a huff, they manage to lift it into an empty shelf in the shed. 

Namjoon watches in silence as Seokjin digs out a rusty key to lock up the shed with practiced movements. “The players help out Madam Hooch a lot- we’re practically her errand boys, so we have spare keys to the shed,” Seokjin explains to Namjoon, sensing that the atmosphere was getting too quiet. 

Namjoon thinks about what to say to that, and eventually responds. “Yeah, makes sense.”

They fall silent again. Namjoon takes this moment to think about all the wrong choices he had made that day to land him into this awkwardly quiet moment with a cute but slightly intimidating third-year. Finally, with some good-old Gryffindor courage, he decides to open his mouth and start a conversation. “So Seokjin—”

“Anyways—” “Sorry Namjoon, you first!” “It’s okay, I—” 

Namjoon splutters at the predicament they’ve found themselves in, when Seokjin suddenly lets out a giggle. “I’m so sorry, Merlin look at us!” he chokes, giggling in between words with his face rapidly flushes a furious red shade.

Namjoon cannot help but stare at the older student, social cues completely lost on him as he watches Seokjin wind himself up from laughing. The giggles are slowly dissolving into weird squeaky sounds, so Namjoon decides to intervene before he chokes. “It’s okay?” he prompts, hoping Seokjin will respond positively to his tentative question.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m absolutely fine, gods just look at me. I’m really bad at this, this talking to people,” Seokjin manages to say while wiping away a stray tear from his eyes.

Namjoon isn’t sure why Seokjin is saying that, and honestly everything is just getting progressively weirder- surely this wasn’t such a funny scenario to begin with. “I think you were really good with the class just now, though.”

“Yeah that was on the pitch. That’s Keeper Seokjin, you know. Now, this is Grounded-Seokjin.” He waves his hands around as he explains in a matter-of-fact way. “Not so much a Keeper now,” he adds on, watching in amusement as Namjoon’s face morphs into a mask of disgust at the joke.

“I’ve never heard… anyone say that about themselves.”

Seokjin waves a dismissive hand and turns in the direction of the lockers with Namjoon tagging along mindlessly with him. “Now you have, and you’re going to hear it a lot more from now on.”

“How come?”

“How come what?” Seokjin asks back, tilting his head to look at Namjoon with an expression somewhere between a cute frown and a pout. 

Help me, God. 

“Wh— why do you say I’m going to hear it a lot more from now on?” Namjoon fixes his gaze onto their shoes, avoiding looking at Seokjin at all costs. The corridor heading to the locker rooms is old and dilapidated, Namjoon thinks to himself as he scrutinizes the cracks and dents in the floor.

A light pressure presses on to his shoulder suddenly, the warmth seeping through his robes, sending a flushed feeling through him. 

“I like you. You’re cute and we’re going to hang out a lot more from now on. That’s why,” Seokjin gives Namjoon a final pat. Namjoon sinks a little into the ground before raising his head slightly to meet Seokjin’s eyes. There’s a small smile playing on his lips, as though he knows something Namjoon doesn’t. Finally, the older boy asks, “are you going to stare at me all day? Or do you want to head into the showers with me?” There’s a flirty smirk on Seokjin’s face now and Namjoon _blushes_ , heat prickling at the back of his ears and head.

“Oh- no sorry, I’ll take my leave now. It’s been nice meeting you, Seokjin, I’ll see you around school?” Namjoon awkwardly shuffles backwards. He tries to put up a stoic face, ignoring the burning sensation across his face, but that seems to only amuse him more.

Seokjin spares Namjoon anymore awkwardness by making a show of stepping into the locker room while keeping the door slightly ajar. “Of course, I’ll have to introduce you to Yoongi sometime soon. The two of you are definitely going to click. See you, Namjoon!” He sends a final charming smile before closing the locker room door.

“See you,” he says quietly, the words echoing a little in the empty corridor. There’s a telltale sound of a shower being started, so Namjoon quickly makes his way back to the main part of the castle, his heart thudding in his years. What a day.

* * *

“Yoongles, Namjoon. Namjoon, Yoongles.”

“Yoongles?” Namjoon asks warily, surveying the boy sitting in front of him. So, this must be the Yoongi. The mint green hair looks fluffy enough to eat, but one stare out of the boy’s feline-looking eyes has him squirming nervously in his seat. He looks sleepy, almost, but Namjoon knows it’s all a crazy ploy to get his guard down. Everything Seokjin does is a trap.

It’s been a week since the crazy flying class, and Namjoon has spent every day since then praying for Madam Hooch’s speedy recovery; he never wants another class under Seokjin. As fellow Gryffindor students, they run into each other _a lot_. The other first-years were a little jealous but mostly in awe when Seokjin ruffled his hair as he passed him by in the Great Hall, or when he invited Namjoon to sit with him in the library. Seokjin even went as far as to drop by Namjoon’s dormitory room in the mornings sometimes to wish the younger boy a good day ahead, and as far as Namjoon can tell- that was really odd behaviour.

On the bright side, Namjoon is truly happy with his new blossoming friendship with the older student. Hogwarts is an intimidating place to be, so when he ignores the blatant flirting and overly affectionate characteristics of the third-year, Namjoon is incredibly grateful to have an older brother figure around. On top of that, Seokjin is one of those kids that are living their best lives in school, which can’t be said for the majority of the population- he’s a school athlete, he’s popular, the teachers like him, and his grades are more than passable.

Day one after flying class, Seokjin had ran into Namjoon in the corridors and took it upon himself to teach the first-year some of the more commonly used, not-so-secret secret passageways. The day after that, he showed Namjoon how to leave notes for the house-elves when he needed an errand to be run. The most intimidating lesson was on Day 3, when Seokjin taught him how to evade a pissed off Mrs Norris. The list goes on.

“Why is he so nice to you?” Jackson had whined rather pitifully midway an Introduction to Charms class, when the Professor was scribbling something onto the whiteboard. “He’s like, _so nice_ to you, Namjoon. What did you do to him?”

“Nothing, I think. I don’t know actually.” Namjoon tried to focus on the parchment before him, ignoring Jackson as he progresses into louder whines.

“But he’s like popular you know, everyone talks about him. And he’s only a third-year!”

“What about being a third-year?”

“He’s like the best Keeper out of all four House teams, but one of the youngest players! And you’re friends with him? How?” Jackson was getting so agitated he stareted bouncing on his seat in between words. Namjoon lets out a sigh.

“Woah that sounded a little bit insulting near the end.”

“It’s supposed to be.”

“Yeah, I know he’s really popular. He’s just being nice to a junior I guess…”

“But at the library? I saw it you know- he got up from his seat with all his third-year friends and carried his stuff over to an empty table. And then he called you over to join him. I don’t count that as just _nice_.” 

That was news to Namjoon as he silently contemplates what Jackson is saying. He had just assumed that Seokjin was uncharacteristically friend-less and studying alone that particular day, so calling Namjoon to join him was just for some simple company. But now Jackson was telling him that Seokjin went out of his way to sit with him?

“I really don’t know why he’s being so nice to me…” Namjoon placed his attention back on the class again, but the Professor’s words were starting to sound unintelligible, morphing into one long string of gibberish that made no sense. Jackson, in a rare show of empathy, sensed Namjoon’s discomfort and laid off the topic for a while.

Namjoon managed to catch Hoseok in the corridors on the fourth day after the flying class, and boy is he glad to see Hoseok again.

“Merlin, Namjoon, I haven’t seen you in so long!” Hoseok’s words came out a little muffled as Namjoon enveloped the other boy in a bear hug, trying to convey all his emotions through the simple action. Hoseok hugged him back equally passionately, as though they had been separated for years. (It’s only been a week or so.)

I haven’t seen you in so long!” Namjoon tightened his arms around Hoseok as they transitted into an awkward swaying motion, right in the middle of the corridor, onlookers be damned. “And you said ‘Merlin!’’

“Yeah, I learnt that one. You guys say it way too much. Anyways, how come I haven’t seen you at all?” Hoseok said as they finally break apart, “surely Hufflepuff and Gryffindor have at least _one_ class together?”

Namjoon pondered over this for a moment- he’s been having classes with the other two Houses rather frequently.

“Oh, Hoseok we do. Care of Magical Creatures, our first class is tomorrow! We missed it last week because it was cancelled, remember?”

Hoseok’s expression dawned into one of enlightenment. “Oh yeah you’re right! Can’t wait to have a class with you tomorrow!”

The excitement was infectious and Namjoon quickly launches into telling Hoseok about all that has happened in their amazing first week in Hogwarts. They giggle and snigger all the way to the Great Hall as Hoseok recounted how he set his partner’s eyebrows on fire during his first Charms class. In return, Namjoon shares about his first DADA, Defence Against The Dark Arts class, where he confusedly upset a wet sandy tank containing the ugliest _Murtlap_ , sending the whole class into chaos as they hopped onto tables and chairs in an attempt to get away from the slimy rat-like creature.

Hoseok told Namjoon that he’s been having an amazing first week at school: Hufflepuff truly is the nicest House. Namjoon listens in awe as Hoseok described how the different Hufflepuff seniors had all helped them one way or another, starting from the insanely heartwarming comradery to the big gestures and huge efforts, like the Hufflepuffs’ Map and a House-warming party. 

It didn’t take long before Namjoon inevitably had to share about _his_ own seniors helping him, and the conversation turned to Seokjin.

As Namjoon started to describe hesitantly about the older student’s confusing actions and mannerisms, Hoseok stopped him. “Wait, do you mean, Kim Seokjin, like the tall guy?”

“I suppose he’s tall…”

“Like tall and good-looking. Really good-looking.” Namjoon nodded. Definitely the right guy.

“With like the nice hair. Nice face.” More nodding.

“Real nice body.” Hoseok added with finality, a solemn expression on his face as he stared back at Namjoon.

“Yes, that one. Why?” Namjoon asked with a frown. Hoseok was still looking at him with a really serious expression, making Namjoon start to wonder if he had done something wrong. Surely Hoseok didn’t want to take dibs on the guy first? Was Hoseok even into guys?

Hoseok took a deep breath and looked at Namjoon as though seeing him in a completely new light. “Namjoon, that guy is really attractive.”

“Wow, is that all you wanted to say? You were really scaring me you know,” Namjoon tried to laugh it off, running his hands through his hair anxiously- seriously, people needed to chill with the Seokjin reactions. First Jackson, Minji, pretty much the whole first-year Gryffindor batch, and now Hoseok? 

“He’s gorgeous though, like he’s shining you know. I bet if the sun wasn’t out you wouldn’t even know, he’s just- that pretty, gods, Namjoon tell me your secrets,” Hoseok ended in a mock whisper, interlacing his fingers into a prayer position and adopting a pleading look.

“Hoseok please, I have no secrets,” Namjoon tried to move backwards but Hoseok followed him anyways. If Hoseok were a puppy, Namjoon could totally see him wagging a tail furiously right now.

Ignoring Namjoon’s poorly executed retreat, Hoseok continued anyways. “Namjoon, you don’t understand- Seokjin is like the hottest guy, I’ve ever seen. Ever. _Ever_ , Namjoon. Everyone’s talking about him, in the first-years, haven’t you noticed?”

Everyone talks about… Seokjin? Was that true, Namjoon had tried to think back. It was obvious the Gryffindors are enamored with him, but he always thought it was just a case of senior-idolism. Either ways it was, and still is hard for Namjoon to tell since he’s in the same House as Seokjin; the proximity makes his observations a far cry from objective.

“Wait, what do you mean everyone talks about him?” Namjoon had turned to Hoseok to ask, and they started to walk slowly towards the direction of their dormitories with their heads leaned close together.

Hoseok thought about it for a while and said quietly, “Well, at least in Hufflepuff, even on the second day the seniors pointed him out to us, like ‘oh that’s Seokjin, he’s the Gryffindor Keeper’. I mean, he is pretty attractive so whenever he walks past or anything, the conversation just, naturally flows into one about him.”

“So, he’s just good-looking.”

“I guess so? I don’t know, sometimes when I see him I just feel... like I want to be nice to him. God, this is starting to sound so weird. Maybe he’s my soulmate.”

“I think you need to get some sleep, Hoseok,” Namjoon concluded, storing away what Hoseok has been telling him into his brain archive for future usage. He had been following Hoseok down the stairs for a while now without registering where he was actually going. “Wait, Seok, where are we going?”

“Seok? Aww call me that more, please.”

“You’re getting really, really weird.”

“I’ll call you Joonie.”

“Please don’t,” Namjoon groaned. They made their way down a final flight of stairs, finally reaching a warm well-lit corridor. “This is the basement.”

“Well-noted,” Hoseok commented lightly, before waving Namjoon off with a hand. “I’m going back to my Common Room now, off you go, shoo shoo.”

Namjoon glared at him in disbelief. “You do know that _my_ Common Room is in a _tower_? This is the basement! I’ll take forever to get back!”

Hoseok sent him a happy, unfazed grin before turning away to make his way down the corridor. His cheerful ‘bye Joonie, see you tomorrow!’ only served makes Namjoon more pissed. 

“You’re the worst!”

“Tell me more about Seokjin during class tomorrow!”

Namjoon eventually started his long, arduous track back to the Gryffindor Tower, the stairs slowly sucking the soul out of him. Ignoring the burn in his thighs as he trudged up slowly, he thought about all that has happened so far.

It’s true that Seokjin has been paying a lot of attention to him, he just has no idea why.

* * *

Back to present day, Namjoon finds himself sitting at the Slytherin table for the first time. Seokjin and his green-haired friend are sitting across him. ‘Yoongles’ is prodding absentmindedly at a piece of toast, his other hand holding up a book of an ominous dark red covering. 

“Yoongles, don’t ignore him,” Seokjin chides, and the other boy slowly raises his head again to appraise Namjoon. Namjoon feels something cold trickling through him and he freezes a little like a deer caught in the gaze of a predator. How is Seokjin interacting with such a dangerous species so carelessly, without a care for his own safety?

‘Yoongles’ locks his gaze straight into Namjoon and lets out an unamused grunt.

“Hi, I’m Namjoon.” Another awkward silence. Seokjin watches them with a pleased smile, as though the interaction is going just as well as he hoped. ‘Yoongles’ spears his toast with his fork with a clink. Namjoon gulps. They watch in silence as he eats his toast slowly while putting down his book.

“Yoongi.”

Seokjin’s smile is threatening to exceed the physical limitations of his facial muscles now, Namjoon notices when he spares a glance in his direction. Seeing that Yoongi was unlikely to say anything else, Seokjin quickly moves to intervene. “Yoongi over here is a second-year, he’s in Slytherin. He sometimes hates other human beings, but I’m sure the two of you will be good friends in no time!” 

Seokjin’s optimistic tone doesn’t seem to have any effect on the second-year, so Namjoon takes a leaf out of his book and starts on his own piece of toast as well. Only Seokjin is enjoying himself, surveying the scene before him with great satisfaction. 

Namjoon tries valiantly to send the third-year _a look_. Please help me, he screams inside his brain- maybe Seokjin knows Legilimency? The only response he gets is another self-satisfied smile. Namjoon wants to die, maybe just sink into the bench he’s sitting on and never re-surface. Anything is better than this awkward hell he’s found himself stuck in. Yoongi is still calmly eating his toast, and now eggs, while Namjoon tries to munch on his own toast. It tastes more and more like sawdust now, he thinks, as he observes the Slytherin. Yoongi is really pale and somewhat skinny, making Namjoon wonder if it’s true Slytherins don’t get much sunlight because they stay in the dungeons. His hair is really intriguing: it’s a nice shade of green and it catches the sunlight at certain angles, making it seem almost golden- in fact, his hair seems to be turning a golden yellow—

Wait, what?

“Oh shit.” Yoongi’s remark is so soft Namjoon almost missed it, but Seokjin’s head snaps up immediately, a concerned expression quickly appearing as he scrutinizes Yoongi to see if something’s wrong.

“What happened?” Seokjin is still raking his eyes all over Yoongi, trying to figure out a difference.

“Did it change?” Yoongi raises one hand to his bangs and tries to pull it into view, squinting at the strands. “Damn, it’s piss yellow.” 

It really is a golden yellow shade now, Namjoon realizes as the last of the green fades away. “You didn’t mean for it to happen this time?” Seokjin asks, taking one strand into his hand to inspect it himself.

“Wait, you can- you can change your... hair?” Namjoon forgets his initial fear of Yoongi momentarily and manages to ask.

Luck is definitely on his side that day as Yoongi replies him cordially, “yeah, Metamorphmagus. It’s not just my hair, I can change anything.” 

“Cool,” Namjoon breathes, staring in awe at the older student, who is still glaring furiously at his own golden bangs.

Seokjin makes a sound of frustration. “Yes Yoongi, but it’s not supposed to be out of your control like this, is it? I thought you always had good control over the skill.”

“I read that Metamorphmagus can’t control their changes sometimes if they’re really stressed,” Namjoon cannot help but contribute what he knows about Metamorphmagi and immediately recoils when Yoongi lets out a low growl of frustration.

“Stressed? I’m not stressed about anything, just that my stupid fucking hair keeps changing colour like a slut—“

“I don’t think sluts necessarily change their hair colours often...” Seokjin mutters but Yoongi doesn’t seem to hear him.

“I feel like traffic light on drugs, at this rate even my face is going to change, like sprout some fucking tusks or a goose beak or something—“

“Yoongles,” Seokjin suddenly says. It stops Yoongi in the midst of his rage-filled rant. “It’s not a beak.”

“Wha—“ 

Yoongi carefully brings one hand up to his face to where he can feel a little twitch, where something’s definitely wrong. His hand brushes past a few strands of hair that seem to be growing from his cheek, and he finally realises—

“Are these, fucking… _whiskers_?”

Namjoon keeps his mouth shut and looks at Seokjin. He’s not ready to die yet.

Yoongi turns to Seokjin, a deadly calm seems to permeate the air around them. Seokjin steels himself, and nods.

“Fuck,” Yoongi says with a defeated slump of his shoulders. He seems to shrivel before their very eyes as he takes in the situation. He has whiskers now. Yoongi lets out a second long sigh before reaching out for his coffee mug. “Well, this is bad,” he mutters sullenly, no longer as tense as before. Namjoon and Seokjin let out a synchronised sigh of relief- the worse is over.

“You said, it’s because I’m stressed, that I can’t control my changes well anymore?” Yoongi continues, to which the first-year nods earnestly.

Namjoon jumps on the chance to explain what he knows. “There can be many different causes, like extreme stress or trauma. If it’s really bad sometimes the Metamorphmagus is unable to change their appearance at all, until their problems are resolved. But for you, since the changes are small, maybe the cause is not too serious.” 

“That sounds not too bad, Yoongi. When did all this start anyways?”

Yoongi mulls over the question for a while, his whiskers twitching as he thinks. 

“They’re actually quite cute, Yoongi, maybe you should just keep them.” Seokjin gestures at Yoongi, making the Slytherin frown.

“The piss yellow hair or the whiskers?” 

“Whiskers,” Namjoon says and Seokjin makes a sound of agreement. 

“Also, it isn’t piss yellow, its actually quite a lovely colour.”

“It’s ugly because I hate it.” 

Seokjin lets out a drawn out sigh, “ugliness is objective, Yoongi honey, somethings will always be ugly. Other things are always beautiful—“

“Don’t say it,” Yoongi tries to cut in but Seokjin is undeterred—

“For example, me.” 

“Fuck,” Yoongi groans, “I hate you so fucking much.” Namjoon does his best to hold back his chortle at the interaction.

“Back to the topic, when did all this start?” Seokjin asks again once Yoongi gets over the trauma that is Seokjin’s extent of narcissism.

“Maybe over the holidays? I started having weird hair colours then, but not as frequently? And I didn’t have to concentrate hard for it to change back- as long as I noticed the change, I could get it back to the original colour. Now, it’s getting harder.” Yoongi plays absentmindedly with his new whiskers as he says this.

He scrunches his nose up suddenly and squeezes his eyes shut. The whiskers are starting to retract little by little and the two Gryffindors watch in barely concealed awe. Eventually it disappears completely, and Yoongi is fully normal again, save for the golden locks.

“Wow,” Namjoon utters again and resists the urge to stroke Yoongi’s face, where the whiskers disappeared to.

“It’s a little tiring now though, like my skill is getting weaker.” 

Now that the atmosphere is a little less grave, the boys start to dig into their breakfast again. The curiosity in Namjoon is honestly burning him alive, so he counts down ten seconds in his head before caving in. “So, can you change into anything? As long as you know what it looks like? What’s the process like when you try to change?”

To this, Yoongi takes a swig of coffee much like an alcoholic would do with a glass of vodka. It looks a little pretentious, but Namjoon supposes he’s been having a long day. “I can change into anything, yeah. The more complex the creature, the harder. That’s why the whiskers and the hair appear, it’s simple, much easier to lose control of.”

“That means no chance of you suddenly turning into a _griffin_ or a _centaur_?” Seokjin ponders, his voice laced with the barest trace of disappointment. 

“Nope, and thank god for that. Don’t want to lose control and turn into _hidebehind_ or something.”

Namjoon gags a little at the mental image. “Wait, what’s that?” Seokjin hurriedly asks, not being familiar with the species.

“Ghoul and a _Demiguise_ , their offspring. It’s really ugly, kind of looks like a tall ugly skinny bear.” Namjoon tries to recall from memory. “Oh, also it eats humans.”

“And it’s American,” Yoongi adds. Namjoon snorts into his bacon.

“So you can do it, theoretically, like turn into a dragon,” Namjoon suggests excitedly.

“Theoretically, but that’s hard- it’s easier to change into something roughly the same mass as you. Somehow turning into smaller things is easier than larger ones,” Yoongi explains patiently. “It’s easiest turning into other humans though.”

Seokjin chuckles a little at this, and surprisingly, Yoongi smiles as well at the inside joke. Taking pity upon Namjoon after seeing his confused expression, Seokjin shares the story. “There was just this one time we had a new teacher-in-training that joined Hogwarts for just a little while. Yoongi’s House had made a bet over who would be the first to make him cry, winner wins fifty Galleons.”

“ _Fifty_?” 

Yoongi nods his head with a proud look. “You’ll be surprised how loaded some of the Slytherins are. Anyways, the new teacher didn’t know I was a Metamorphmagus. I wasn’t going to take part at first, but he said some pretty nasty bullshit about my House, and I wasn’t having it. At first it was an individual competition thing, we’re not really the most bonded as a House, but after he said that, we surmised falling into a snake pit would be more lethal than one snake bite.”

“So Yoongi disguised himself,” Seokjin continues, eager to tell the story. “Turned into the poor teacher’s ex, how you guys even found that out, I have no idea.” Yoongi smirks at that. “Apparently Yoongi went full on monologue on him, got the poor guy on his knees, begging for mercy.”

“And crying,” Yoongi adds, a self-satisfied expression playing on his face. “Highlight of the year.”

“Did you get the fifty galleons?” Namjoon wonders aloud.

“Split it thirty-twenty with the main guy that dug out the juicy news. I got thirty for being a Metamorphmagi and the acting.” 

The three boys continue to go into the possible pranks and advantages of being a Metamorphmagi, and Namjoon gets to ask his questions to his heart’s content. Despite the occasional judging looks they receive from other Slytherins at the table, they’re in their perfectly content little bubble. It’s evident that Yoongi is pretty proud of his own skills and definitely is above average when it comes to controlling it. They don’t broach the subject of Yoongi’s underlying stress problem anymore, but it stills blankets them like an invisible mist. They are chatting about Animagus in comparison with Metamorphmagi when a bright, chirpy voice that could only possibly belong to one person rings out from behind Namjoon.

“Joonie!” 

Namjoon turns around so fast he nearly gives himself whiplash. “Hoseok!” The Gryffindor immediately clambers out of his seat to give the Hufflepuff a hug. Just as he’s about to ask the other boy about his day, the school bells starts to ring. 

“Another time, Joonie! Maybe lunch?” Hoseok chirps again with a heart-shaped smile, turning to join his Hufflepuff friend, a taller and tanner boy with perfectly curled hair. 

“If I see you, definitely,” Namjoon promises. He also gives the other boy a small wave and watches them leave the hall. Turning back to pick up his own things, he catches Yoongi with a weird expression on his face. 

“Hey, you alright there? You kind of froze up man- was the kid too cute?” Seokjin taunts with a mix of teasing and real concern. At his words, Yoongi seems to gather himself back again.

“Nothing,” Yoongi quickly says, and starts to gather up his books as well.

“Hitting up minors is illegal, Yoongles.” Seokjin sings. 

Yoongi stops packing his books for a second and whips out his wand. He points it at Seokjin, and casts with a deadpanned voice, “ _Evanesco_.”

“The Vanishing Spell? Really, Yoongi.”

“Always worth a shot.” Yoongi shrugs and tucks the wand back into his robes. Without a second word, he turns and leaves the table for class.

“That’s our cue to leave as well, Namjoon,” Seokjin reminds Namjoon after he recovers from Yoongi’s one-liner. Slytherins are wild, Namjoon thinks to himself as he packs his own things and follows the older student out of the Great Hall.

It’s been a wild first week: he’s met the personification of sunshine, Hoseok, the enigma that is Seokjin and a Metamorphmagi that hates life. Somehow, inexplicably, Namjoon thinks there’s something there between them, maybe the start of something larger than life. It feels him with a sense of warmth and foreboding, but at the present moment, he can only strap himself in and hope for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> many things are left unsolved here!! seokjin's strange, unexplained interest in namjoon, yoongi's stress problem, and is that a potential love-line i see!! hoho either ways, thank you all so much for your comments and for reading!!! your comments always cheer me up and motivate me to write a lil faster HAHA
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>  **do let me know if there's something you'd like to see them experience in the wizarding world!!** if you're waiting for maknae line, rest assured they will appear soon- some world building is needed first :')
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